Poland's Deaf and Blind Aid Society partnered with three driving schools for a few days to put disabled people where they very rarely find themselves: in the driver's seat. Of the 19 participants, 12 had never driven a car before. The remaining seven had driven before they lost their hearing or sight. Each driver had two days of training before completing two laps at a course set up on a tarmac at the Lodz airport in central Poland.
Some of the drivers were completely deaf and blind, while those who had some hearing or sight wore masks and headphones to level the playing field. Drivers were accompanied by co-pilots, experienced instructors who donated their time from various driving schools who communicated with the drivers via touch alone. A tap to the right side of a knee meant the driver should turn right, for example. For safety reasons, the instructors could also stop the car at any point.
The winner of the day's races was Kamila Dobrzynska, who is blind in one eye and partially deaf. She made it up to 30 miles per hour by the end of the course and completed it with flying colors. She told AFP that driving was an exercise in trust. "It's a weird feeling. There's fear," she said. "You don't know where you are, so your ears and eyes are those of the instructor. You need to have total confidence in him," she told AFP.
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue